Saturday, 24 December 2011

70th Anniversary of Churchill's Christmas Speech at the White House

70 years ago today, on the 24 December 1941, less than three weeks after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japanese forces, the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom stood shoulder-to-shoulder by the Christmas tree on the lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. Recognising that the future of Western Civilisation depended on the unity of the English Speaking Peoples and an alliance between the British Empire and the American Republic, Winston Churchill and Roosevelt combined their Christmas greetings with words of inspiration for the populations about to embark upon the long and arduous road to victory. To mark the anniversary I post the fully White House Christmas Tree ceremony below. Churchill's 5 minute speech commences at the 16 minute mark.